CYPRESS, Calif. -- Solomini finished first in Saturday's Grade 1 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity at Los Alamitos, but was disqualified and placed third behind stablemate McKinzie and Instilled Regard for causing interference in the final sixteenth.
The stewards voted 2-1 to disqualify Solomini, who drifted in late and bumped with Instilled Regard and McKinzie, who was racing on the inside of the trio.
Solomini finished three-quarters of length in front of McKinzie who was a head in front of Instilled Regard. Solomini was disqualified after an eight-minute review.
The decision surprised Flavien Prat, who rode Solomini.
"I didn't think he came in," Prat said.
Bob Baffert, who trains Solomini and McKinzie, had the same opinion in the minutes after the race.
"I didn't think the other horse came in so bad," Baffert said of Solomini. "I didn't think there would be a change.
"It's too bad they took him down. He was the better horse today."
Baffert swept the two Grade 1 races at Los Alamitos on Saturday, later winning the Starlet Stakes with Dream Tree.
Solomini ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.57.
McKinzie was immediately unsaddled by jockey Mike Smith and quickly taken back to the barn. The horse was not present in the winner's circle after the disqualification.
McKinzie ($3) raced four wide on the first turn, and three wide on the second turn before taking the lead in the stretch. McKinzie could not maintain the advantage.
Before the disqualification was announced, Smith said he did not expect a change. The $300,000 Futurity was McKinzie's second start after an impressive maiden win at seven furlongs at Santa Anita on Oct. 27.
"He will move forward," Smith said. "He got tired. He never saw that horse on the outside."
Solomini was second in the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 30 and the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar on Nov. 4. Instilled Regard had his stakes debut in the Los Alamitos Futurity after winning a maiden race at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Oct. 29.
For Him, a 62-1 shot, finished fourth, 29 1/2 lengths behind Instilled Regard. Runaway Ghost was last of five in the small field.
McKinzie, by Street Sense, races for Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman and is named in honor of the late Brad McKinzie, an executive at Los Alamitos who died in August. The owners and Baffert were close friends with McKinzie.
McKinzie gave Baffert a record 10th win in the Los Alamitos Futurity - six times when the race was run at Hollywood Park and known as the Hollywood Futurity or CashCall Futurity, and four consecutive runnings at Los Alamitos.
McKinzie has earned $210,000. He was purchased for $170,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.